How does the MIT community use AI chatbots?

MIT’s Writing and Communication Center (WCC) conducted an anonymous survey during May-July of 2024 with a goal to understand how MIT students, researchers, and faculty use AI chatbots for their writing and communication. 

The survey helps us understand:

  1. What types of AI chatbots they use and how frequently.
  2. What writing projects they use them for, at what stages, and with what specific writing tasks.
  3. What they find useful in using these tools and what limitations they point to.

The results of the survey are presented below. They represent 678 complete responses received from the MIT community including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and researchers, faculty and staff. The results can be sorted and analyzed using filters in the right-side column.

Survey Participant Demographics

Explore different sub-populations by selecting the filters on the right side.

How are chatbots used?

How are chatbots used for pre-writing and text generation?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.

How are chatbots used for pre-writing and text generation?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Pre-writing tasks

How are chatbots used for pre-writing and text generation?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Text generation tasks

How are chatbots used for pre-writing and text generation?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Text generation techniques

How are chatbots used for pre-writing and text generation?

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Have you used chatbots for any other tasks related to pre-writing or text generation?

How are chatbots used for text editing and revision?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.

How are chatbots used for text editing and revision?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Revision tasks

How are chatbots used for text editing and revision?

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Editing tasks

How are chatbots used for text editing and revision?

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Editing techniques

How are chatbots used for text editing and revision?

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Have you used chatbots for any other tasks related to text editing or revision?

How effective are AI chatbots with the following aspects of writing?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.

How effective are AI chatbots with the following aspects of writing?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Pre-writing

How effective are AI chatbots with the following aspects of writing?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Text generation

How effective are AI chatbots with the following aspects of writing?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Revision

How effective are AI chatbots with the following aspects of writing?

Explore the different stages by clicking on the sub-menus below.


Editing

Overall experience using chatbots